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Ford joins GM, Chrysler in sitting out Tokyo Motor Show

An American auto show wouldn't be the same without the participation of Japanese automakers. But the inverse could hardly be said, as all three of Detroit's automakers are set to be no-shows at the Tokyo Motor Show once again.

News of General Motors and Chrysler passing on the semi-annual Japanese auto expo came back in February, with word of Ford's plan to pass just now being released. It will be the second time that the Big Three are staying back in Detroit, after having sat out the last show in 2009. Tokyo Motor Show organizers tried to attract more exhibitors by changing its venue and timeframe – a necessary move, as Tokyo is quickly losing ground to the auto shows in Shanghai and Beijing.

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Its not like they will be missed.
Detroit should focus on their home market, as well as expanding as much as possible in China. Japan is an extremely wealthy, top-tier market, but the JDM is essentially closed to foreign makes. No reason to waste money going.

Imagine that, a Fiesta or Ka thats too big for JDM....
The top 30 cars sold in Japan are all Japanese. There is no way you can make me believe the game is not rigged. Imports only make up 5.8% of the JDM, and I'm saying if the U.S. or the E.U. limited the total market to the same percentage, you'd never see a japanese product anywhere.
So I'm calling bullshit here.

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The Big Three have a hard time competing with Japanese brands in the US despite the tariff and continuing negative publicity against the Japanese. I don't see how US cars can be competitive in Japan, still.... how much could it cost to attend a motor show? Ultimate failure is the failure to even try.

I guess these foreign makes going to Toyoko get a free pass into Japan. Only America gets punished. /end sarcasm.
"Volkswagen and several of its brands, as well as Daimler and BMW, along with Saab, Renault, Citroën, Peugeot, Jaguar and Land Rover are going to Toyoko"

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Just a thought - Japan isn't formally "closed" to foreign makes, but then again Japanese domestics make up ~93% of the market. And though they don't necessarily impose high tariffs on foreign companies, most dealerships are built/supplied by local contracts.
http://www.jada.or.jp/contents/data/type/hanbai/201012.php
Oh, and the Japanese are highly resistant to imports in general, even if they're cheaper... which even includes things as rice and beef.

none,
if that's the case, why do they still offer the JDM Accord and Legend? And they even sell the US Accord in Japan as the Inspire!
http://www.honda.co.jp/auto/
There's a whole bunch of stuff there that is bigger than the Civic. They may well have stopped selling the Civic, but unlikely because of the reason you claim.

The only way it is closed to foriegn makes is that many foriegn makes do not meet Japanese environmental and safety standards. However, as those standards are overall stricter than other countries, Japanese cars exceed many of the standards in other countries and can sell there with relatively minor modifications (i.e. US bumpers, swapping the steering wheel position). In addition, most US-made cars are too large and thirsty, and thus irrelevant to the Japanese market, whereas some Japanese-market cars are relevant to the US market.

I highly doubt that they are overall "stricter" than either US DOT or European NCAP type standards. As a matter of fact, the Cavalier was sold as a Toyota in Japan in the 90's with minimal changes (and poor sales, to boot).
In any case, what's obvious to anyone who looks at JDM sales statistics is that the Japanese very much favor their own brands - Toyota (the brand) alone sells seven times the volume of ALL the imports COMBINED. And that doesn't even include the Toyota-owned subsidiaries like Hino or it's share of FHI/Subaru.

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I live in Vancouver, where I get to see JDMs all over the place. Crash worthiness?! Give me a break. environmental standards? Where?! I love to see roof crush results, just as an example. Cars here got heavy here because they're built like vaults compared to the stuff produced there. I see 4X4 trucks wheelbases comparable to my motorcycle teetering down the highway, and you call that safe?
Call this argument what you will, but don't go with safety standards and how Japan Inc is leading the way.

I find it hard to believe that anything Ford, GM, and Fiat make in this day and age do not meet safety and emissions standards in Japan. I mean what're you saying? that the Versa, Yaris, and Fit are drastically cleaner burning, more efficient, and safer than the Fiesta and upcoming Sonic? I could see how Chrysler wouldn't have anything for that market but when Fiat sits it out- the brand that makes the Panda, 500, Punto, for crying out loud- then you've definitely got a problem.
The japanese market just IS a hard place for foreign makes, that isn't even debatable.
On top of that as far as I know Public transport is still king in japan. So even if they could crack that barrier they'd still lose to busses and trains, it's a "why bother" scenario anyway you slice it. They've got plenty of other venues to show off electric this n' that and concepts, and they're in places where they may be able to make a dent in the local market.

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The Ford Fiesta is the best selling car in the UK, which faces similar constraints - high gas prices, narrow, crowded streets, RHD model. The Ford Focus, and GM's Vauxhall/Opel Corsa & Astra are also very competitive small cars. And now that Chrysler is owned by Fiat, they have all those little Italian cars to market as well.
Of course the real reason they are not bothering is that Japanese buyers strongly prefer domestic brands, and while Japan doesn't have auto tariffs, they have rather expensive "safety" inspections of foreign vehicles, that amount to the same thing. That is why almost all the foreign cars you see in Japan are exclusive luxury vehicles, as that market is much less expensive.

The Focus and FIesta are NOT competitive in terms of the Japanese market. Have you even seen the most popular cars over there? Every other car is shaped like a box and is very efficient in terms of space. They make the Fit look bad. The Fiesta is just about the least space-efficient vehicle I've seen considering how cramped the rear seats are.
And Japan has VERY different tastes from the UK.
And that's bull crap about the Japanese preferring domestic brands. If you make a good car, they will buy it. They buy BMWs, Audis and Mercedes over Lexus. Apple has been gaining in their smartphone market like crazy as well when just a few years ago so-called experts talked about how closed and pro-domestic the Japanese market was.

Their market is closed so why should an American company waste effort shipping cars over there to "show". BTW, when a car is shipped into Japan it's subjected to a JMT (Japanese Ministrity of Transport) "safety inspection" and they are charged basically what amounts to 50% of the price of the vehicle per unit to have it "inspected". It's completely rigged.

They may not have any tariffs or excessive taxes on imports, but as a rule Japan is a deeply protectionist nation. Its their culture to ensure the wealth stays in its own nation. I will point out that during the recession here Japan had its own version of cash for clunkers. But in their system imports were all but ineligible to be used. They made a point to only cater to people who bought domestic vehicles. Here is the US most consumers traded in larger American iron for smaller imports.... I am sure if regulations were put in place here to ensure we only bought domestic vehicles there would have been a huge backlash. That's our culture.
Also about the tax on imported trucks.... most foreign companies get around that by building trucks/suvs here in the US (Toyota, Mercedes, BMW, etc). Its easier to get around regulations than cultural preferences/prejudices.

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non of the germans or the japanese would exist or have survived this long without the American market.
Both these markets are protectionist and even if they would allow American cars in their market, it would not matter to the American car manufacturers.
The real market for cars is the USA and recently China...If the Americans car manufacturers concentrate their efforts in these two countries and don't piss their money away on meaningless countries (the europeans don't even buy cars lately , they are so screwed up economically) they will be the dominant force again in the world. SO GOOD DECISION from the big 3.

The decision makes perfect business sense considering the hit to the Japanese economy caused by the earthquake/tsunami. American manufacturers are best to focus on recapturing lost market share in North America while the Japanese companies are experiencing supply disruptions.